Wine & Spirits writer David Darlington highlights California’s Potter Valley as a hidden gem for outstanding riesling online and in the February 2019 issue. The story delves into a few leading producers, including Chateau Montelena – a big proponent of the region. The writer interviewed Master Winemaker Bo Barrett for the piece to elaborate.
“One of our mantras is ‘The right grape in the right place,” attests Bo Barrett, who has sourced Chateau Montelena riesling solely from Potter Valley since 1986.
He adds, “Riesling is a cold-climate cultivar—it goes nuts in a warm climate, and in Napa Valley, it’s too vigorous. The only good ones are on Spring Mountain, from Smith-Madrone and Stony Hill. The mesoclimate [of Potter Valley] is far better for northern European cultivars. Down here, riesling is the first grape to pick, but up there, it’s the last. If you can get riesling ripe after Napa Valley cabernet, that’s ideal.”
The writer offers context as well. “Prior to the 1976 Judgment of Paris, where Chateau Montelena took top honors for chardonnay, riesling was its main white wine. Thus, when Barrett’s grower replanted, he proceeded to scour Northern California for a suitable source. “The one we liked best by far and away was from Hidden Cellars [in Mendocino County],” whose winemakers, Dennis Patton and Greg Graziano, told him that the origin was Potter Valley.”
“What’s rare and special about Potter Valley riesling is that, when it doesn’t rain, you can get it fully ripe with zero botrytis,” Barrett says. “We definitely cannot make German- or Alsatian-style riesling in California, but I think we can make something that nobody else makes—except sometimes Austria in one of their magic vintages.”
A big fan of Montelena’s style, the writer notes that their version is “suave and civilized—subtly floral, neither sharp nor cloying. In limited comparisons with Anderson Valley, I’ve found Potter Valley riesling richer and fuller, but also—counterintuitively—more enticingly acidic.”
Read the full story HERE
Related Wines
Chateau Montelena
Potter Valley Riesling 2017
Mendocino, California
Riesling is a hidden gem within the Chateau Montelena portfolio. Many people don’t know it exists, and once they do – they keep coming back for more. Stylistically, it is amazingly refreshing with notes of lemon blossom, honeysuckle and rose petal that are balanced by lively acidity
Related Producers
Chateau Montelena
Calistoga, Napa Valley, California
In 1976 Chateau Montelena put California at the forefront of the wine world. That year a who's-who of the French wine establishment gathered in Paris for a blind tasting of French and American wines. When the scores were tallied, the top-ranking white wine was Chateau Montelena's 1973 Chardonnay. Montelena today continues to be a quality benchmark in Napa Valley, producing some of the finest Cabernet and Chardonnay in California.
